We moved!

We successfully moved Saturday.  We have spent two wonderful nights at the farm house.  I had teacher inservice today and have another work day tomorrow.  I will spend at least another day in my room doing stuff that I want to have done before the kids come next Tuesday.
I don't have Internet at the farm house yet, so this is quite brief.  I just wanted you all to know that we are in and happy.

Moving

The official moving day is tomorrow,

but Mike has been moving furniture and boxes all week.

Above shows the general chaos of the living room.

Here you see the quilts that I finally got to see after 3 years.

I'm looking forward to using some and hanging others.

We are  not sure where that chest will go.

What's really frustrating is that I can't remember 

where it came from and who redid it!

A good reason for writing your 'history' down.

This chest was in our living room at the bungalow,

but may find its way upstairs.

We plan to put my mother's armoire there

to hold coats and such.

That armoire (it hasn't been moved yet) has been with me since early first marriage days.

It is cedar-lined and I cherish it.

Here you can see the finished paint job of the living room.

It is all a creamy color called Downy and I'm happy with it.

I'm especially happy with the unified look and flow

in having the trim the same color.

The color in several of these pictures(not the one above)

 looks a bit off.

I didn't have the right setting on my camera

for the little amount of light that was in the room at the time.

Here is the other side of the front door.

My father refinished that book shelf---

I remember it setting in the hallway at the Barnesville parsonage.

It has been mine since my parents moved to a retirement campus

quite a few years ago.

The chair will go at the other end of the living room

and there is that same unidentifiable chest.

The place where it sets will eventually be a window seat.

There is a bird feeder outside

and we plan to put more there.

Hopefully this will make up for the cats not having the screened-in porch.

The dining room.

We have a card table at the bungalow

right now.

The little room you see is the laundry room.

Mike plans to make a door for it

so it will be shut off from sight.

We hope to move the washer and dryer up to the long storage room.

You can see my mother-in-law's dry sink 

in the right-hand corner.

Polish and cloth are setting on it.

I finally got some dishes in the kitchen cupboards.

There are still dividers in them,

because I just wanted them in there--

Someone will wash them on moving day.

The radio/Cd player is temporary---it kept my husband company 

when he was redoing the ceiling and walls in the living room.

Here are the two blue walls

that were once a deep clay-color.

The cream stayed.

I found this armoire/drawer combination

at an auction about 5 years ago.

It reminded me of my parents' bedroom furniture

that I lent to my kids.

(Through unfortunate circumstances the furniture is no longer.)

When the former-owners remodeled the bathroom,

they left this area open.

They had furniture tucked in here.

Why they didn't make it into a built-in closet,

is beyond my understanding.

This armoire needs redone,

but for now it will hold towels and such.

I got some semblance of order to the bathroom,

although all of this is temporary.

We plan to change all the chrome to bronze

and simply getting rid of many of the towel racks--

they have an over abundance.

We do need new towels.

 Here are glimpses of our master bedroom.  The dark chest is something we just acquired with the purchase of Mike's aunt's house. It belonged to a great-great-someone in the family.
It needs restored or redone.
The lighter chest is one Mike's father redid many years ago.

Mike's aunt is in an assisted-living facility and Medicaid insisted on the sale of her house.  Mike and I bought it and plan to rent it to fracking workers.
There is a huge need in our community for rental properties because of the drilling.

Some of our quilts--both Mike's
and my families' heirlooms.

The flowered bedspread is the one I bought for my dad's bed after he moved into a smaller apartment.
He loved it and I haven't been able to part with it.  I may use it in the guest room because the cats will not be allowed in that room and thus they
will not be able to snag and ruin it.

Well, that's it for now.

We have a busy three days ahead of us

and then I have teachers' days next Monday and Tuesday.

I will be working in my room

most of next week.

I may be off-line some as we won't get our phone line

and thus Internet until next Friday.

We are going to keep my computer set up

on the card table here in the bungalow.

I can then hopefully work here if I need to.

Blessings on your upcoming weekend!

Note Card Party

I drive several country roads around this small town

where I live

and take photos of barns.

This is a stress buster for me

and as one of only two English teachers

at our rural high school,

I have stress.

I actually used the third photo on a post card.

The first and last ones are on note cards I made 

through Snapfish

that I haven't ordered yet.

I give them as Christmas gifts to my daughter

and several close friends

who still write 'hard copy' notes.

The first two are east of Dayton, Ohio

on Rt. 40.

There are a lot of Mail Pouch barns in this area

as the 'Barn Painter' lived in Ohio

(actually just 15 minutes from where I live).

These last two are local.

The above one is between Barnesville and Bethesda 

on Rt. 147.

It is a well maintained 

and it seems to be a well-loved barn.

The one below is just down a country road

near my home.

It is deserted.

I am joining The Note Card Party with Vee

which occurs the third Wednesday of every month.

Barn Charm # 81

In July a close friend and I went 'barn hunting'.

She had several great barns she wanted to show me.

First though, we stopped at Caldwell Fair Grounds 

to take photos of the old church, school, and covered bridge.

(I will feature them another time.)

We ended up at the swine barn

and although it's not an old barn,

I thought it was interesting.

Next week is Noble County Fair.

(We don't start school until September 2nd

because of the fair.)

The side that borders the inner circle.

You can see that this place has seen a lot of action!

The spigot at the back of it.

I'm with Tricia's Barn Charm.

Packing and Monday's Prayer

Our official move date

is this coming Saturday.

However, Mike and some buddies 

have started taking stuff over,

so we will have a good bit moved before 'the day'.

One of Mike's sisters came over yesterday to help me pack boxes.

She helped immensely!

She moves faster than I do!

Several friends had offered to help me pack,

but I didn't take them up on it.

Robyn just showed up, so I put her to work;

her husband Allen was helping Mike move big stuff.

(Mike spent a lot of days working on the building 

Allen bought for his auto body shop, especially

climbing up and down scaffolding while putting in

a new ceiling--

we're talking high ceilings.  So Allen is now helping Mike;

My husband is a firm believer in the barter system.)

This is one side of the living room/dining room built-ins.

The one to the left of the entrance to dining room is empty too.

This is a view into the dining room from the living room.

One of the built-ins in the dining room.

I will really miss them.

All the plans I had chosen for building a house

were Craftsman style---it is my absolute favorite style.

I will miss all the Craftsman touches in this tiny bungalow.

There is nothing similar in the farm house.

My son brought our dining room table to us yesterday.

It was in storage after Mike moved up here from Cincinnati, 

so we lent it to Doug when he was setting up his 'single Dad home'.

But he inherited his paternal grandparents' dining room set,

so we get ours back.

It will stay here in the bungalow for renters.

The antique table that came with the house

is making the move to the farm house.

It needs spruced up a bit,

but we really like it.

Doug also brought one of our sets of washer and dryer

that he was also no longer using.

We will switch out the dryer here 

and  either sell or store the washer.

T here is a very nice set in the farm house.

The grandkids accompanied him,

but I forgot to take pictures.

Peyton, bless her heart,

made a point of looking over the farm house

and making nice comments.

The two younger ones became bored

when they realized:

1. no food

2. no toys

3. no TV.

That's it for now.

I will be working on getting the farm house kitchen organized.

Mike brought over all the boxes

 from the Cincinnati's house kitchen

and put them in the farm house kitchen.

I am struggling with concentration

because everywhere I look there is a pile to go through.

This is one aspect of the fibromyalgia

that family members have a very difficult time comprehending---

we are easily overwhelmed

when our surroundings become crowded and chaotic.

But it has to be done.

Monday's Prayer

Lord,

in my thoughts and my words,

I want to always confess

that You are my sufficiency.

Help me to be ready for anything

because You empower me.

Amen.

I have learned in any and all circumstances

the secret of facing every situation . . .

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me

(I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him

Who infuses inner strength in to me:

I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency).

Philippians 4: 12-13

Blessings to you!

Painting and 'new' chairs

Dry wall work and the subsequent painting is progressing well.

This is where the shelves used to be. 

 There was a major problem with the wall that was evident 

when the shelves were empty, 

so Mike tore everything out and redid the entire wall.

That's my man!

He will build new shelves later.

Below shows part of that area painted in Sherwin Williams Downy.

The walls and trim are the same.

The only contrast is the actual fireplace frame.

The inside part and the mantle are the creamy Downy color;

the frame and outside edges are white.

You can't really tell even in the close-up below that there are two colors.

Anyhow I thought it looked weird and am having him paint the outside part

(each side of the frame)

Downy also.

Here is the same wall shown before torn apart.

It is now finished except for switch covers.

The painter has to finish the doors 

(there is another one at other end)

and also will complete the dining room.

He will then need to paint laundry room

 and the two accent walls 

in the upstairs half-bath.

The second bedroom is finished.

It has all white walls and trim

with Sherwin Williams Blue Cruise

on the floor.

(The painter will only use Sherwin Williams' paints.)

The area you see beyond the door in the below picture

is the long storage closet that runs the width of the house.

This is part of the walk-in closet for the master bedroom.

We started bringing stuff two days ago.

We stuck stuff here until all the rooms are done

and we can start putting everything in its right place.

Our official move date is next Saturday,

but we will move the table and other bits and pieces 

of furniture throughout the week.

Here are the antique chairs I bought from a friend.

The one above is by itself.

The one below is part of a four-chair set.

They will go in the dining room.

That's it for now!

Barn Charm # 80

The following are barns I found while out driving.

This one is out by itself with no home or other buildings around it.

It looks more like a storage shed, but I still thought 

the weathered wood.looked nice.

I took a side lane off of the road west of town 

that I usually follow.

I only found one barn/farm setting---

a small set up.

I did not take a close-up because there was a home in the midst 

of the outbuildings and people were there.

I did get a nice surprise, though.

The road intersected with the state highway 

I drive to work.

I always wondered where that side road led

and if there were any barns out there.

Some day if I've got time

and am a bit bored with the usual way,

I'll take this way.

The biggest surprise was coming on this barn

that I pass to and from work

and can never figure out how to photograph it.

I thought the side road across from it

might be a good spot to pull over and snap some,

but I never did until last Friday when I found myself on that road.

At first I didn't recognize the barn or where I was.

Now I'm determined to go back and get more pics.

It is a wonderful barn that is well taken care of

and used daily.

Hopefully I can feature it again after taking more pics.

Meander on over to Tricia's place 

for more barn photos.

Work Continues and Monday's Prayer

 It is week 4 of owning the farm house.  We hope to get to move in next week.
We did get a mattress and box springs upstairs.  The guys from Lowe's took it up for us when they took the dry wall up to the smaller bedroom. (Mike will drywall that soon.)
To the right you can see the first two items in the long storage closet.  It is my paint box which I got for The College of Art and Design classes I took when Doug was 10 -- 25 years ago.  I've kept it all this time.  I hoped one day to use it again. My dream is closer.  The other is my scrap booking bag.  I've had it almost 10 years and use it sporadically.

This is our neighbor's fridge. We are borrowing it to see where

we want to put a new one.  

This is where the previous owners kept theirs.

However it will only take 30 inches, which is at 

most 22 cubic feet.  That is small.

We are considering taking the Vermont stove

out on opposite wall, installing baseboard heat,

and putting a much bigger fridge there.

If we go with a smaller fridge, we will need to keep an old one

in the basement, especially for holiday dinners.

The previous owners took their German refrigerator,

which they bought for its quietness.

Does anyone hear their fridge?!

The ice maker, yes, but the actual fridge?

 Below you can see that Mike has the dry wall up in the living room ceiling..

He has also wired the ceiling for 3 lights,

one in each section and a place for track lights over 

the window seat that he will build.

 I had to choose paint and that took 11 trial containers.
You can see the colors I chose: pure white for the
2nd bedroom and blue cruise for its floor; downy for walls and trim of dining room, living room, and laundry room (that is off of dining room); and resolute blue for the two accent walls in the half-bath.  The bedroom is done.  Mike is finishing up the living room today and tomorrow and the painter will return on Wednesday.

I ended up buying 5 sample paints for the living area

and am glad I did, because it was the 5th one that I went with.

It is the one furthest to the left. 

It is called Downy and is a light cream.

The two darker ones were not right, one was almost white,

and one looked almost exactly like what was there (has a yellow tint).

As you can see below, that one did not even show on the trim.

The floor in the half bath is royal blue,

so I went with a blue for the accent walls.

It is Resolute Blue and is the 2nd from the left.

I chose the blue closest to my feet, the nails of which are painted blue.

It is called Blue Cruise.

The walls and trim will be Pure White. 

It will be my studio and office and I want a bright, clean 'slate'.

I will add colors through pictures and accessories.

Mike decided to put drywall on the long living room wall.

Its cracks were too severe and we didn't really want wall paper.

He is also doing the wall where the front door is--to the right of this wall.

Both areas had old plaster.

You can see the ceiling is all done and ready for paint.  Mike does an awesome job and I'm quite aware of how fortunate I am to be married to such a handy man!








Monday's Scripture and Prayer:

If one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering; 
if one member is honored, all the members share in 
the enjoyment of it.  Now you are Christ's body and you 
are members of it,  each part severally and distinct
with his own place and function.
I Corinthians 12: 26-27

Lord, help me to be Your hands and to reach out to those
in need around me.   Help me to do all that I can.
Amen.

Blessings to you all as you begin this week.